At the beginning the New Year many of you made resolutions. So, how are you doing with yours? Well, I know all too well how this works. If you’re doing great with yours, then you probably don’t need to read this. However, if you’ve fallen off that horse already, then read on. You’ll find some good advice here.
So, on December 31st you resolutely decide that you will turn over a new leaf. You will start exercising…you will start eating better…you will GET IN SHAPE! On January 1 you get up early, put on your gym clothes, drink a protein shake, then go for a jog to the park and do push ups. You’re psyched and feeling great! This goes on for two weeks, then CRASH! The life you remembered beckons you back, you get busy, your eating patterns return to what it was and the only exercise you’re getting is walking to the refrigerator. What happened?
Well, you became victim to what I call the New Year’s Desecration. What is the New Year’s Desecration? In a nutshell, it’s where you make a New Year’s Resolution only to not keep it after a short time later. I call it that because folks will take what begins as a noble cause, only to have it come crashing down. Far as I’m concerned, if you make a promise, I expect you to keep it! I realized that life can throw us curve balls that knock us off course. And what usually happens when that occurs? We just go back to what I call our “default” mode; where we simply do the things we’ve become accustomed to doing. If going through the Drive-Thru was a daily ritual of yours, then that’s probably what you’ll end up going back to doing. It’s easy, you don’t have to think about, and it has become ingrained in you by now.
But rest assure. It’s never too late to jump back on the horse and get back to being resolute. As I said in my last post, I will be resolute every day I live and would hope that you can do the same.
So when it comes to developing new habits, researchers have found that those who implement one new habit at a time, then slowly add other new habits along the way, are the ones who realize the greatest success. And I’m not just talking about healthy habits. This could pertain to working habits, learning habits, lifestyle habits, et al. But since this is a fitness forum, we’ll discuss this along the lines of instilling better eating and exercise habits.
Recently, I put together a new Exercise/Nutrition Journal for folks who want to record their workouts and eating plans so as to better track their progress. Also contained in the Journal are some helpful charts and tables, along with formulas you can use to help you monitor any changes in your health. So, to bring a part of that here, listed below are seven habits you would do well to implement. However, if you were to try to do every one of these starting tomorrow, I would guarantee that nearly all of you would fail. We just are not built that way. Instead, choose one habit that would be realistic for you to begin doing right away, then do it over the next 7-10 days. One you’ve instilled that new habit in you, it is no longer a “habit” to you as you’ve then made that practice a regular part of your life. Then choose another habit and do that over the next week or two. And on it goes. So give that a try and let me know how you’re doing with it.
For the best success, pick ONE of the following tips and do it every day for the next 7-10 days. Then add a new one in and so on:
Fat Loss Tip #1 – Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water each day.
Fat Loss Tip #2 – Consume 5-7 servings of fruits and/or vegetables.
Fat Loss Tip #3 – Eat more frequent (5-6), smaller meals and snacks throughout the day.
Fat Loss Tip #4 – When eating a meal, stop eating when you feel around 80% full.
Fat Loss Tip #5 – Take a fish oil, essential mineral and multivitamin supplement at breakfast.
Fat Loss Tip #6 – Get in 30 minutes of physical activity each day.
Fat Loss Tip #7 – Get a good night’s sleep (7-8 hours for most folks).
If you’d like to obtain your own copy of the My Fit Journal give me a shout and I’ll let you know how you can get yours. Till next time, Happy Training!
About the Author:
In a business that experiences a great deal of annual turnover, Oliver has remained steadfast through it all with over 20 years in business. Being fed up with all the deception and dishonesty that occurs in the Health/Fitness industry, Oliver set out to offer a no-nonsense approach to sensible wellness without all the hype and false promises that continue to abound. Oliver is a world class personal trainer specializing in custom fitness and workout programs for individuals and small groups. If you want to improve your overall health, lose weight, get into better shape, and look and feel better, contact Oliver today!
